May/June weight loss challenge

[abejita]

142 for me, with a goal of 120.

[Possegal]

I have eaten out way too often this week. I need to get back to eating at home and bringing my lunch to work. Too expensive and too many calories when I eat out!

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?k...4N3hRdVE&hl=en

[Psycler]

139.8 this morning.

[Trek420]

173.6 this morning.

[Susan Otcenas]

139.8 this week - I finally broke that 140 boundary

Congrats!! It's always an extra bonus to pass one of those big milestone numbers!


Holding steady at 131.

[Grits]

I haven't been part of this group for some time now, but thought I would share a success story of losing that last under- ten -pounds that tends to stay on.

I have tried at different times to get my weight back into the 130's where I feel best, but have hovered in the low 140's for a couple of years. I think I wasn't really THAT motivated because I don't look that bad (in cothes ) at that weight so wasn't willing to do anything that was too much work. Plus, I always feel like I should be able to lose weight just because I know so well what I have to do; however, it wasn't happening. I was also avoiding the scales because I knew I wouldn't like what I saw.

When I finally got on the scale in Jan., I was horrified but not really surprised to see that I was at my all time highest non-pregnancy weight, so action was required. This is what worked:

1. Wrote down everything I ate and counted calories for the first 4 weeks . It is a pain, but every time I have lost significant weight, this is what I had to do. On line programs are great, but it is easier for me just to do it manually. I quit writing everything down after that, but kept on eating the same way. My calorie goal was 1200-1300 plus extra for exercise. I used the Cyclist's Guide to Nutrition to figure out what I needed for days I biked. Some days it was well over 2000 calories.

2. Did dramatically cut out junk food and refined carbs, but did not do a low carb, low fat or any other kind of "diet", just counted calories. I tended to eat 5 mini-meals throughout the day so I wouldn't get hungry.

3. Did an on-line weekly weigh in with my sister who was participating in a biggest loser contest at her company. We just happened to be at the same starting and goal weight.

And that is it. Didn't change my normal exercise, except I did start doing gentle yoga twice a week in January. I read recently that women who do yoga are more mindful about what they eat and tend to not gain weight, so maybe it helped. I did it to improve flexibility and ward off joint problems. In the winter I do one or two 45 minute cycling classes a week and work out on the elliptical for one or two sessions for a total of 4 cardio workouts. I also do strength training and/or yoga 2 - 3 times a week. As the weather improves, I substitute outdoor rides for the indoor cardio.

It came off SLOWLY. It has taken since late Jan. to lose 8 pounds. I know that doesn't sound like much to some of you, but believe, me, when you get down to those last 7 to 10 pounds, they absolutely do not want to budge! When the scale didn't move some weeks, I told myself that I was still healthier because I was eating better food and taking good care of my body and just continued on doing what I was doing.

Anyway, I weighed in at 136 this morning and am thrilled because all my clothes are loose now I hope my cycling improves some now that I have a little less weight to pedal up the hills!

[martinkap]

148 lbs this morning - wrong direction again.

Possegal, my goal is 143lbs at the end of the challenge.

Thank you,

Martina

[bounce76]

132 again for me.

[BikingNurse]

129 for me. Yes, up another lb. but I talked to one of our providers here (who specializes in weight mgt) and she really thinks its muscle. She also measured my body fat % which was 27% BMI of 25. She said I can check it every 2-4 weeks If I'd like. ... UM... I'd like!

[Jones]

175.2 I've been on a kinda binge lately, alot of emotional eating that I have to get under control.

[Susan Otcenas]

I haven't been part of this group for some time now, but thought I would share a success story of losing that last under- ten -pounds that tends to stay on.

Lots of great, practical advice here, Grits! Thanks for posting it.

[tharley]

Same as last week.

[VeloVT]

I'm going to say no change this week.

It's tough to say. I've had one of those weird weeks where my weight has been all over the place from day to day -- fluctuations of several pounds -- so there's some kind of water thing going on. It's frustrating.

[GLC1968]

I'm going to go with 'no change' for me this week since I weighed 161.something both Friday and Saturday (even though both days, my routine was messed up). Today I'm down a little, so I'm hopeful for next week.

Here's the interesting part. About three weeks ago (when I first hit 161 on the scale) I tried on all the clothes in my 161 bin (I'll explain in a minute) and only about 1/2 of them fit. Yesterday, I tried on all the rest and everything fit fine even though my weight is the same. I am definitely smaller. I'm wearing my belts on different holes and I've moved some of my 'fat pants' into the 'donate' bin. I also had to buy a new pair of work pants yesterday because my fat pants were too big and looking very unprofessional and I'm not quite small enough for the next set of work pants. Yay!

So, the bin thing. My weight has varied by about 40 lbs over the past 3-4 years. Because of this, I have LOTS of differently sized clothing. When we moved here, I put everything into my main closet (which is huge, yay!) but it got very depressing looking at all these clothes that I was too fat to wear. About 3-4 months ago, I went crazy trying on and organizing my whole closet. Everything that didn't fit went into bins and the bins were labeled based on what weight I needed to be to fit into them. Easy enough to do since most of those scale weights were quite recent and I could remember what I weighed when based on where I was living at the time. So now, I just cleared out the 161 bin. The next one is a 155 bin which contains most of my shorts - so I need to get there soon before it gets too much warmer here! I have bins going all the way down to 130 lbs where the clothing size dips into the 4's and 2's (now I'm in 10's & 12's). It's cool because this way, I don't see the clothes every day and when I do get to open the bins, it's like Christmas for free! Plus, many of these clothes have good memories tied to them, so it'll be fun to be able to wear them again. AND, my closet feels WAY bigger now that it's not stuffed with useless items anymore.

[channlluv]

Still at 232 here.

I attended a luau/memorial service for my father-in-law yesterday. He died of cancer on April 26th. That's father number three since November for folks keeping track (my father, grandfather, and now Bob). My daughter is fresh out of grandpas.

The losses have been really hard on me, and compounded by the car accident in February that took me out of my regular training schedule for two months while I've been recovering. My wrist is still a bit sore, especially on long rides. I tried 16 miles a few days ago and my hand was numb the whole time. I kept shifting position, but I had to ice it as soon as I finished.

I'm on the mend, though.

Roxy